Star Apps: David X. Cohen

The Emmy-winning "Simpsons" writer and "Futurama" co-creator chats about his upcoming Moogfest lecture, his writing career, technology in the 31st century, and his favorite mobile apps.

When David X. Cohen was in graduate school, he had hit the proverbial fork in the road. Would the Harvard graduate, with a degree in physics, studying theoretical computer science at U.C. Berkeley, opt for an assured career in mathematics/computer science or take the gamble and become a comedy writer? Fortunately for "The Simpsons" and "Futurama" fans, he took the latter route. Now an expert in all three disciplines, Cohen will chat about the intersection of math, technology, and comedy writing at Moogfest 2014 (April 23-27).

Emmy-winning writer David X. Cohen will appear at Moogfest 2014.

Talk to us about your appearance at Moogfest 2014. We will be talking about the two coolest subjects imaginable, "Futurama" and mathematics. It could not get cooler than that [laughs] for me.

The genesis of this is a book that's out right now called, "The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets" by Simon Singh, and it also talks about "Futurama." I did an interview with Simon Singh about the book, and it so happened that one of the organizers of Moogfest heard that. This chain reaction started, and they asked if I'd be interested in going and doing something about math and "Futurama," because they're trying to expand the festival into more futurism and technology. So I said, "Sure. Why don't we get Simon Singh in to moderate the panel, and we'll get some "Futurama" writers in there, too? So it's going to be more "Futurama" themed, and it'll be both nerdy and funny, hopefully.

When you were still in school, did you know what you wanted to be when you grew up? Absolutely. I was 100 percent set on being a scientist. Growing up on the East Coast, it never would have occurred to me that you could make a living out of writing comedy. But on the other hand, it was a hobby of mine, where I wrote a humor column for my high school newspaper and stuff like that. So I always thought it was fun to try and make people laugh.

Since my parents were both biologists, I thought that's the way to go. I eventually became more interested in math and computer science, so I went that way, but I didn't go too far from the parent trees.

In college, at Harvard, I wrote for "The Harvard Lampoon" magazine, and only then did I realize that some of my friends there were trying to make that a career, and saw that as an option. So I went through a wrenching period where I had to decide what I was doing, but I thought it'd be wiser to go to graduate school before I forgot all the math and science I'd learned, and then I'd switch to writing later if I wanted to. But it'd be hard to go the other direction. So that's what happened. But I kept wanting to write, so I tried that for a while and have been on that path ever since.

At what point did you realize you could create a career in writing? I used to make drawings and make my sister buy them from me for one penny. So that was the beginning of my professional career. She was younger, so there was the threat that she would be beaten up if she didn't give me the money. [Laughs]

In graduate school, thinking I would try to make the switch, I was writing spec material and sending it all over the place and seeing if anyone would hire me. Eventually there was a lucky break. I had sent some stuff to David Letterman. Mike Judge, who had just created "Beavis and Butt-Head" was a guest, and he told the head writer that he needs to hire some really cheap writers, and the head writer said, "I really liked his stuff, but couldn't use him, so here you go." Mike Judge asked me to submit some ideas, and he hired me for a wage similar to the penny, but the show turned into a hit to my surprise. I wrote two episodes, so I now had a resume, and thought, "Maybe this will pay off."

Read the original:
Star Apps: David X. Cohen